Strategic Energy Management (SEM) program to incentivize industry to double energy efficiency by 2030
CircuitMeter technology platform is the perfect tool as adoption of Strategic Energy Management programs poised to grow – low cost, cloud-based, real time energy data and high powered energy analytics software will enable industrial energy management programs.
Article “California’s SEM program open for business” appearing in Smart Energy Decisions September 2017 outlines how SEM is poised for rapid adoption through the U.S., and California in particular.
California utilities have a mandate to double savings derived from energy efficiency by 2030 and therefore have earmarked $4 million to incentivize Strategic Energy Management (SEM) through its industrial energy efficiency program.
SEM focuses not only on the cost of electricity supply but also on risk mitigation. This represents a paradigm shift for how companies manage energy use. At the core of SEM is the integration of energy management into existing business practices that feature continuous improvement and efficiency of operations. The continuous energy audit is one tool for industrial facilities to track progress toward energy efficiency and conservation goals.
Based on the experience of early adopters of SEM, the Consortium For Energy Efficiency codified best practices leading to the development of the California Industrial SEM Guide in 2017 which many California utilities will use to create their SEM programs.
The article suggests that, “while utility incentives are helpful, SEM is a best practice that should be standard operating procedure for any enterprise that wishes to remain competitive in today’s global economy.”
Aside from energy cost savings, some of the key benefits of SEM include:
- Equipment running at greater efficiency has a longer asset life
- Tracking of conservation goals leads to greater employee attraction and retention
- Increase in potential investment in a facility due to data analytics demonstrating mitigation of climate and regulatory risk through SEM
- Link to larger climate change mitigation goals
One of the main characteristics of Strategic Energy Management is the use of energy data analytics to normalize energy use accounting for factors such as weather and changes in production. Breakthrough technologies such as CircuitMeter’s innovative low cost submetering and real time cloud based energy analytics platform represents a new frontier in SEM. Facility managers can use advanced low-cost submeters as an energy data-gathering tool for all electrical systems within a facility. The energy data can then be analyzed in real time allowing for greater understanding of the energy use of an entire facility, and at the individual piece of equipment or circuit, leading to reduced use and efficiencies never before possible.
With real time circuit level information easily accessible through cloud based software, industrial facilities can make informed data-based decisions to boost operational efficiency, lower peak demand, reduce carbon emissions, and determine requirements for additional capital investments.
CircuitMeter is poised to grow quickly as the rapidly growing demand to boost industrial energy efficiency and the generation of low cost energy data and related analytical tools is recognized as being a fundamental component of Strategic Energy Management.